


Mysterious Destiny

by TheUmbraWitch



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Depression, Eventual Romance, Harassment, M/M, Mystery, Psychological Drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21797563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheUmbraWitch/pseuds/TheUmbraWitch
Summary: Alex is an 18-year old boy who never found much interest in Pokemon or the Pokemon battles he would watch on TV. Despite this, he always made sure to tune into Champion Leon's matches. Very closely.Alex embarks on a long quest throughout Galar in an attempt to complete the Gym Challenges.He never would've imagined that he'd find his destiny in Pokemon battles, and he uncovers something much more sinister lying in the shadows of Rose Tower.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Original Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	1. Fly Me To The Moon

**Author's Note:**

> hi lol. i used to be a professional video game player. i thought it'd be neat to relate some of my experiences in tournament to the pokemon gym challenge world or whatever. somewhere along the lines i decided to start actually developing a plot further than alex just completing the gym challenges. the chapters get much longer in the future (i have 5 written so far. chap 1 is mostly just an introduction to my character i guess), so i hope this is a story you can easily pick up and keep reading if you enjoy it. i apologize for any grammatical mistakes. i'm not the most accomplished writer and this is mostly something im just doing for fun. bear with me <3

_"Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars. In other words, hold my hand. In other words, darling kiss me."_ were the lyrics being sung by Alexander and his mother in their home. His mother adored Frank Sinatra and he enjoyed the video game Bayonetta, so they were playing and singing along to a karaoke version of the video game rendition of the song Fly Me To The Moon.   
  
When the final notes of the song played and the music started to fade Alexander's mother asked, "Alex, when are you going to find your own special person to sing this song to?"  
  
Alex was used to this by now and gave his mother a good rolling of the eyes as you would say and a small scoff.  
  
"Come on Alex," said his mother, "you're a very handsome young man. Sharp jaw, good nose, full lips, pretty brown eyes, and the cutest circle framed glasses I've ever seen! I don't know how you haven't gotten a girl yet. I'm not getting any younger and I would enjoy to actually see who you're gonna end up with forever. You're gonna miss me when I'm gone you know!"  
  
Alex once again rolled his eyes at his mother, comically so this time. He would always get fed up with how his mother would joke around about not having a girlfriend. Alex was already 18 and had not found interest in anyone really. He KNEW he would be able to woo whomever he wanted, as said by his mother he was quite attractive, but he never particularly WANTED to. At this point he pretty much decided he was going to live alone forever.  
  
"Mother, I'm gonna be alone forever." said Alex in the most   
moody teenager way he could possibly muster.

Immediately after delivering that awfully angsty teen comment, he and his mother burst into laughter. Although Alex truly did believe what he said, he figured that joking about it was gonna be the best way to go about things. He and his mother never truly had conflict over such trivial things.

"Yeah sure whatever kid!" His mother replied. "Go outside and get some exercise. I gotta clean up the karaoke equipment, make some dinner, and you're practically skin and bones! You can't be looking like that if you wanna find a girlfr-" 

"STOP BYE LOVE YOU MOM!" Alex shouted as he left his one story house. Alex truly did love his simple home and family. Alex never really knew his father growing up. Although Alex would speak to him occasionally on his Rotom-Phone, he never truly got to know him as his parents aren't exactly on good terms. The divorce was rough on his mother, but Alex and his mother believe it brought them closer. Alex was very thankful for his close relationship with his mother as he never really associated with too many others. He spent most of his days playing video games and sheltered inside while his peers would go off trying to Pokemon battle and complete the Gym Leader challenge and face off against the Champion Leon. Alex thought Pokemon battles were "childish", but he always found himself up late at night studying the Champion's matches. Leon had been the champion ever since Alex was 8, and Leon himself was 10 years old. Alex enjoyed watching Leon as a kid, and admired him even more as he grew older. There was something about him that Alex just couldn't get enough of.   
  
Well, maybe it was the fact that they were neighbors and lived just a few hundred feet apart. Although they were indeed neighbors, Leon was busy with champion duties at a young age so Alex was really only close with his younger brother, Hop. Hop and Alex grew up together and would always play video games together. Unlike Alex, Hop was obsessed with all things related to Pokemon battles. He couldn't get enough of them and would even yell "YES! Critical Hit!" when he would beat Alex in a video game, which never came often as Alex dominated Hop when it came to winning at video games.  
  
Alex felt a cool breeze brush past him as he walked the path down his home and he knew that today was going to be an eventful day. As he let the sun beat down on his fair, pale but not sickly skin, he wondered if he was gonna start getting freckles if he stood out in the sun for too long like he used to when he was younger. He ran his hands through his medium length, dark brown hair and inhaled then exhaled a large breath of air.   
  
**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**   
  
Alex jumped up slightly and quickly looked towards the direction of his house's kitchen window. His mother was waving at him and laughing at his sudden shock at her banging on the window. He gave her two thumbs-down and continued walking down the path. She continued laughing to herself as she watched his tall frame slowly start to become smaller as he walked down towards Hop's house.   
  
"Oh my goodness!" Alex's mother said to herself. "I completely forgot to tell him that Leon is coming back home today to visit and was even going to bring him and Hop some 'special gifts'. I wonder what that crazy kid is up to."


	2. Leon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon arrives back at Postwick.

  
Alex slowly started walking with his hands in his jeans pockets towards Hop's home down the path into the small town square when he noticed that there was quite a large gathering at the train station. He thought this was quite odd as no one really congregated around one spot unless Leon was in the vicinity. "Maybe Leon was coming back today?" Alex thought out loud. Nah, there was no way. His mother definitely would've said something so important.   
  
When he made it to Hop's home, he pulled out his Rotom-Phone and checked his lock screen. 26.7°C was the temperature he read and he chuckled to himself as he looked at his outfit. Black cardigan that ran to his knees, a plain white T-shirt underneath, black jeans, and boots. Definitely not the type of outfit you'd want to wear with the heat blaring down on you, yet Alex decided it's what he wanted to wear anyway. He valued fashion and looking nice over almost all else, because if you aren't dressed well then how else are you going to woo a partner. Alex would later learn that his platitudes were oh so very wrong.  
  
He hesitated before knocking on Hop's door because he always figured something would go wrong when knocking on anyone's door.   
  
_knock knock_

Almost immediately after knocking he heard Hop yell out and run towards the door immediately. "LEE!? IS THAT YOU!?" Alex barely made out the words before the door burst open and Hop showed himself from behind the door.

"No you doofus it's literally just me. Get that disappointed look off your face unless you actually hate me and let me guess why you thought I was Leon." Alex said with a blank face, then he put his hands on his temples and shut his eyes.  
"Hmm...the people gathered at the train station, you thought I was Leon but I'm not..."

  
Hop sighed then said, "Okay I forgot to tell you Lee was comin' back today, so what?! Don't get all pissy with me and let's go out to greet him at the station! He'd get lost with his goofy arse anyway."   
Hop then grabbed Alex's arm and almost ran out of the house towards the train station, pulling Alex along the way. Before Hop dragged Alex to the station, Alex caught a glimpse of Hop's mother and called out to her, "Hello Mrs. Victoria! Goodbye Mrs. Victoria!"

"Bye dears! Bring back Hop and Lee in one piece, Alex!" Hop's mother yelled out before getting up to shut the door that Hop carelessly left open.

As Alex was able eventually slow down Hop to a slow trot by pulling against Hop's arm enough. He noticed Hop was in his usual outfit. Denim jacket with fur on the collar that complemented his light brown skin and oddly colored purple hair, black T-shirt, joggers, and running shoes. "Huh, I guess we both don't know how to dress for the weather" Alex thought aloud once again, not realizing what he'd done.

"Shut your yap mate!" snapped Hop at Alex's remark. "At least I look dashing." Hop said as he put his hands on his head behind his back and gave Alex a giant, smug smirk.

"Yeah alright Hop. You can say whatever you want about your 'fashion' choices, but you could wear literally whatever you wanted and you'd look fine because of your stupid, lucky gold eyes! I have to try my hardest because I got nothing going for me in that department, brown eyes are the worst."

"Chill out, you look fine. Thank you for the complement on my eyes though." Hop replied and gave Alex a huge toothy grin.

"Please don't make me take it back" Alex said with a tone of disgust. "Now let's take time to appreciate how I was able to completely slow your annoying running down while talking to you."

"Excuse me?!" Hop exclaimed. "I'LL SHOW YOU NOW! HOP USE TAILWIND!" he shouted as he started sprinting towards the train station and group of people.

"Ah, Hop you fool, you used Tailwind but I'm still gonna be walking at the pace of a Snom." Alex said as he thought of the silly and slow ice caterpillar Pokemon. 

Eventually Alex and Hop made their way to the train station, although Alex arrived a few minutes after Hop did. They surveyed around the area and tried to find a spot just outside of the crowd so they could be last to be greeted by Leon so they wouldn't have to awkwardly stand around while Leon signed autographs and took pictures with his hometown fans. They settled on a small bench right beside the path towards the way back home and almost right next to the crowd of people on their feet.  
  
After waiting for about 5 minutes and talking about nothing too important, they both turned their heads towards the station as there was a train just arriving. Of course it was Leon's train as there weren't many trains that ran in and out of Postwick anyway. Leon had gotten out of the train and already started greeting his fans by the sound of it. Neither Alex nor Hop could really make out much from all the people standing around the station. Hop could barely keep his excitement contained as he could not keep his leg still from hopping up and down. Although Alex was usually quite stoic, he just couldn't help himself from having a pretty big smile on his face thinking about seeing Leon again. It'd been almost 5 years since Alex had seen Leon in person. Leon visits only every 2 years as he's usually much too busy with Champion duties and he has his own apartment in the huge city of Wyndon. Alex was awfully sick the last time Leon came to visit, so he regrettably wasn't able to see him.   
  
Almost 10 whole minutes passed before Leon eventually made it past the crowd of people and noticed Hop and Alex sitting on the bench. Hop immediately jumped up from his seat and ran to hug his big brother. Alex smiled at this interaction and got up as well, although much slower as he had to dust off his clothing from sitting on the bench. As Alex started to approach Leon his heart started beating much faster and he couldn't exactly explain why. He knew Leon already so why did it feel like he was seeing him for the first time?

After Leon and Hop finished their embrace Leon turned to Alex and put on a huge smile. "Oi there Alexander! I haven't seen you in forever it seems. You're even taller than me now!" he said as he hugged Alex and gave him a solid pat on the back. They finished hugging and Alex realized he had gotten a bit taller than Leon at this point. Alex had also realized how ridiculous Leon's outfit was. He had on his Championship gear which consisted of a snapback with the outline of a crown on his head, a red cape with his sponsors on the back, his official championship jersey with a design printed on the front, his very short exercise shorts with patterned leggings beneath them, and his designer sneakers.

Alex started laughing and couldn't help but make fun of Leon's appearance. "Leon, I cannot believe THIS is what you actually wear! I thought you were forced to wear this by the official Pokemon League. Now I'm just mad you're letting your long, purple hair and your golden eyes go to waste."

Leon chuckled as well and went on and on about how he was actually still forced to wear this outfit outside of champion duties and whatnot as a complete excuse. Alex knew that it was a lie and realized that Leon completely enjoyed wearing whatever it was Leon had on.

The trio made their way slowly back to Hop's home as they wanted to catch up on each other's lives as much as possible. Hop wouldn't stop asking questions about Pokemon battles and such, while for some reason Alex was interested in the rumors surrounding his dating life. Alex spent a lot of time on Twitter, except for yesterday and today as he didn't see that Leon was coming back, and he always saw odd conspiracy theory posts about Leon concerning who he was seeing at the time. Leon, answering truthfully, said that he wasn't allowed to date anyone while his time as champion. The Chairman Mr. Rose had very strict rules and wanted to keep Leon held in very high regard in the public eye. Alex was relieved as the rumors he had heard had been pretty wild, and he wouldn't want his friend to be going through some of the stuff he'd seen online.

After chatting along, the three of them made it back to Hop's home. Leon stopped them before going inside and said while taking off his backpack, "Hold on just a moment. Alex I told your mum about this and asked her if she was okay with this so you may already know, but I got you guys something special that I know you'll both like." 

Leon pulled out three Pokeballs and started to let out the Pokemon that were inside. First came a white with red fur on its ears and around its neck bunny that stood on two legs with large feet. Its species was a Scorbunny. After that Leon let out a green chimp looking Pokemon with a small tree branch in its tuft of hair on its head. This Pokemon's species was Grookey. Lastly was a light blue chameleon-like creature who had a timid appearance with a yellow fin-type protrusion on the top of its round head. It appeared very wet and even looked as if it had the same consistency as water for a split second, Alex thought. This Pokemon was a Sobble.  
  
"Now Alex, I know you've never owned any Pokemon before except from your Rotom-Phone, but I've heard from your mother that you know all about raising one so I'm gonna trust you in raising your very own Pokemon." Leon said with a smile and sincerity in his deep voice. "Hop I know you've been waiting for this day for a long time, but you already have your Wooloo so I'm going to give Alex first choice of these three."   
  
Hop was practically bursting with emotion and simply replied, "Of course Lee! I was gonna give Alex first pick anyway."

Both of the brothers then turned to Alex and started asking him which he's gonna pick. Alex shrugged and started to look closer at the Pokemon that Leon had shown them. Something about the way that Scorbunny was smiling at Alex told him all that he needed to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes hop is 18 too. also idk why i dont think leon would fly back home, i just dont!


	3. Is That All You've Got?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Hop have their first Pokemon battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the way i think pokemon battles would go. i hope u enjoy

"Why the hell did Hop choose Grookey?" is all that Alex could think after Hop walked up to the green Pokemon and picked him up. Alex knew that obviously Hop wanted to battle him, and he recognized that Grookey was a Grass-type Pokemon, while Scorbunny was a Fire-type. Alex thought he would've gone for the obvious Water-type, Sobble and give himself an advantage in their battles. Fire had an advantage over Grass, Grass had an advantage over Water, and Water had an advantage over Fire.

After being confused on Hop's choice for about 20 seconds, Alex noticed the Sobble about to start crying as its friends had been chosen while it was left behind. "Hey Leon, what's going to happen to that poor ole Sobble?" Alex asked.

"This chap is coming with me! I'm going to raise him to be a part of my own team." Leon replied while picking up the Sobble to give him a hug. He got Sobble's Pokeball out of his backpack again and before putting Sobble back into his Pokeball Leon told him, "See ya soon!". A flash of light came out of the Pokeball to collect the Sobble and Leon put it back into his backpack. 

"Now then I'm sure the both of you blokes would love to battle each other with your new Pokemon. I'm obviously very keen to this as well, so if it's alright with you two; have at it!" Leon exclaimed while stepping back to make room for Alex and Hop to stand apart from one another.

"Mate I have two Pokemon, you won't stand a chance against me! Trust." Hop said while taking out a Pokeball from his jacket pocket. He threw the ball in a rediculous fashion and the sheep Pokemon Wooloo appeared from the Pokeball with a cute 'Baaa'.

"Whatever you say Hop." Alex replied, knowing that the match was easily his as he had the type advantage. Wooloo was also a very weak Pokemon so Alex was not worried about the number disadvantage at all. He called his Scorbunny over and they shared an understanding look. Scorbunny knew what it had to do to and that it wanted to win along with Alex. Even though Alex didn't really pay too much attention to Pokemon's attacks, he knew that Scorbunny had to know the move 'Tackle'. "Scorbunny use Tackle." Alex said in a calm yet commanding voice to his Scorbunny. He watched as his Scorbunny dashed towards the Wooloo and practically tripped over itself to attack the Wooloo. Alex sighed as he knew they were going to have to train together very hard. The attack, however, still landed on the Wooloo and Alex could tell it was already starting to get weak. 

Hop winced a bit as the Scorbunny dove onto the Wooloo, but as the Scorbunny retreated back to its own side Hop shouted his own directions. "Tackle!" Hop shouted at his Wooloo. The Wooloo obeyed and almost rolled at Alex's Scorbunny. The hit landed and Alex scoffed as his Scorbunny looked almost unaffected by the hit. Hop could tell as well and began to look a little worried.

Alex kept his focus on the two Pokemon and once again said "Tackle". His Scorbunny obeyed and sprinted towards the Wooloo. Scorbunny did not trip this time and landed a Critical hit on the Wooloo. Alex swore he saw a flash of light as the hit connected, and perhaps Hop saw it too. Wooloo 'Baaa'd again and fainted while Hop retreived the Pokemon back into its Pokeball.

"Shite mate...I guess I underestimated you. No worries though Lee! I got this." Hop said after slapping both hands on his face in a 'wake up!' type manner like his brother does before big Pokemon battles. Hop called to his Grookey that was watching patiently in the grass and barked out a command. "Grookey use Scratch!" The Grookey looked slightly annoyed at the tone of Hop's call and didn't budge an inch. "Come on, come on! This is not the time to get all mad at me I'm sorry mate." Hop said worriedly to his Grookey.

Alex saw this as a perfect chance to strike and said "Tackle" once again. Scorbunny listened and delivered the attack right to Grookey. While this attack didn't seem to weaken the Grookey too much, it seemed to snap the Pokemon back into reality and out of its bad mood. 

Hop noticed this and once again said "Grookey use Scratch!" The Pokemon listened this time and ran up to Scorbunny and scratched Scorbunny's chest and face. While the scratches were landing, Alex heard his Scorbunny yip in pain. Alex was enraged seeing and hearing his Pokemon suffer like that. After Grookey finished attacking and ran back towards Hop's side, Alex tightly clenched his fists.

"Scorbunny, no...Victor use Ember." Alex said with red hot malice in his tone. Alex's Scorbunny seemed to pick up on Alex's tone, and its red spots on its ears started to glow red. Hop's and Leon's jaws both dropped as Alex's Scorbunny listened to his Trainer's command and fired a small glob of fire from its mouth at Grookey. The attack landed and Grookey almost immediately fainted and Hop called it back into its Pokeball. 

Alex had won the battle, convincingly so. This dawned upon him after he watched Hop's Grookey immediately pass out after being hit by Alex's Pokemon's strong attack. He sighed, put his hand on his hip, and strut his way over towards Hop's dumbstruck self. It was proper etiquette for the winner of a Pokemon battle to walk to the loser and shake their hand. Alex stopped in front of Hop, stuck his hips back, and extended one of his arms for a handshake. "Is that all you've got?" is all Alex could think. However, "Great battle." is all Alex said with a confident smile.

The two shook hands and all Hop could do was reply, "Great battle." in a meek tone.

Leon had been intently watching Alex this entire time. He knew that Alex would be one of the most incredible Trainers he'd ever seen. Everything down to his strut towards his younger brother, his ability to teach his own Pokemon a move mid-battle, and his calm tone that he could use to probably control many Pokemon, he knew that Alex would be one of the most incredible Trainers he'd ever seen.

Leon slowly started walking back towards Alex and Hop and began applauding halfway there. "Amazing job you two! I'm really proud of how both of you held yourselves in battle." Leon said to both of them, but Alex saw that Leon's sunlit eyes were focused on him. 

Hop smiled and scoffed. "Thanks Lee, but Alex totally kicked my arse. He even taught his Pokemon how to use a move during the battle! I've never seen anything like that before." Hop said before putting his hands in his pockets. He gave Alex and Leon a 'come on' motion as he started walking towards his home. "I'd say it's about supper time and Mum said she was going to make BBQ ribs to celebrate Lee's return. Let's get on inside and eat some food!" Hop said as he headed inside his home.

Leon turned to Alex, shrugged, and then smiled. "I guess we should be going inside then." Leon said. "However, before we go in Alexander, I must compliment you personally. I've not once seen someone have such complete control over a Pokemon they had just met, and even being able to teach them a move mid battle. I'm very impressed by you, and I really think you should pursue the Gym Challenge. I've never endorsed someone as Champion before, but I think I have my sights set on you an' Hop." Leon said as he put his hand on Alex's shoulder. 

After slightly jumping a bit and looking a bit wide eyed, Alex smiled and said, "Thank you Leon. I don't really know what to say. It felt quite natural for me, even though I hadn't really ever thought about being a Trainer before. I believe I'll consider becoming one after today though! Perhaps I could give you an answer tomorrow morning? The Gym Challenge starts in a few days right?" Alex asked.

Leon took his hand off Alex's shoulder and put it right into his pockets just like Hop did when he went inside.   
  
'They really are brothers' thought Alex.

"Well mate you are sorta correct. The Challenge officially starts in 2 days, so if you want to participate you'll probably need to head to Motostoke by tomorrow night. There's a train that runs out of here at about 9 A.M. sharp into Motostoke!" replied Leon.

"I will think about it. Thank you so much for the offer." said Alex. Alex crossed his arms and looked up at the sky before uncrossing his arms and stretching a bit. "Well I do believe we should be heading inside. I think we should also tell Hop the news? He'd be really glad to know he's getting endorsed by his own big bro after all!" Alex said.

"Yeah of course! Just wanted to get some alone time with you mate. I also need to hand you your Scorbunny's Pokeball. Clumsy me I almost forgot to give it to you." Leon said before taking out a Pokeball and tossing it to Alex. With a quick flash of his cape and a nice catch by Alex, Leon jogged inside his childhood home.

Alex was a bit flushed at first, he didn't really get why he thought Leon was so funny now. He always enjoyed his company, but now he was just straight up adoring being around the buffoon. Alex noticed that Scorbunny was simply sitting right next to his foot and licking its small wound from battle. "Hey there buddy. I really am proud of how you battled today, and I want to get to know you better. From now on you will be called Victor!" Alex said while giving Victor a pat on the head. Victor responded nicely with a high pitched 'Mmm!' sound. Alex pressed the white button on the Pokeball and a bolt of white light came to collect Victor. Victor smiled as he went back inside of his Pokeball.

Alex smiled to himself as he headed towards Hop's home. He took out his Rotom-Phone, noticed it was already 6:23 P.M., and texted his mother that he was eating dinner at Hop's place.

> ummm...ya im eating dinner at hops place...SORRY i lov u <3

  


>   
>    
>  Child, I made all this food for MYSELF? >:( You really want me gone! Oh well, I love you Alex. Tell me about what you did today after you get back!

  


>   
>  duh of course. see u later c: xoxo

Alex took a deep breath through his nose and immediately started picking up on the BBQ aroma that was cooking inside of Hop's home. After putting his Rotom-Phone back into his jean pocket, he placed his Pokeball in his cardigan pocket and headed into Hop's home for dinner. 


	4. Moon River

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex has dinner with Hop and his family. Sonia and Professor Magnolia show up as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing dialogue is hard

  
_"Wider than a mile. I'm crossing you in style, someday. Oh dream maker, you heart breaker. Wherever you're going, I'm going your way"_ the record player in Hop's house played out. Alex stepped into the hallway and took a minute to take his boots off before venturing further into the home and into the dining room. It was a two story home with two sections of the downstairs area. One section on the right after stepping into the foyer was for the kitchen and connecting bathroom. The other section was a simple dining room with a small den-like nook where the television and game consoles were. Hop had always wanted the game console to be moved to his room, but his mother never allowed it. The walls were painted a nice shade of cream throughout the house, but there was a deep purple accent wall on the den's adjacent wall. Alex thought of Leon and Hop's hair color after seeing the wall again. "I always wonder if their hair inspired the wall, or the wall inspired them" Alex thought to himself and giggled.

"What are you gigglin' about mate?" Hop said while also starting to laugh a bit.

"Nothing!" Alex said while starting to laugh harder as he caught another glimpse of the accent wall.

"Whatever." Hop said after stifling another laugh. "You're lucky that you were late inside, or else you woulda had to help me set all these plates 'n silverware out."

"Where's Leon to do that? Also why are there seven plates set out instead of five?" Alex asked, noticing that there were an extra two plates.

"Leon went to go change and Mum said that we're having two guests today. She didn't tell me who they were for some reason." Hop replied.

Alex started instinctively tensing up and immediately went to sit on the couch in the den. He pulled out his Rotom-Phone and went onto Twitter to tweet out his emotions to his 0 followers. He never actually used his Twitter account, he mostly just had it so he could stalk the Gym Leaders' pages.

>   
>  alex @bayonettaschild · 2s
> 
> omfg i hate talking to new ppl OMFGGGG fsakldjflk;sajdkl;f can i just crawl into a hole and never interact with anyone ever again? ok ty <3

Alex knew that no one was most likely ever going to see his Twitter, so he had no qualms expressing his feelings like that on social media. He sighed heavily before glancing to one of the many trophies set on a bookshelf in the den. All golden first place trophies. "Hey Hop, has Leon ever lost?" Alex asked Hop.

"No, I have not Alexander." Leon answered. As Leon was walking down the stairs he had heard Alex ask Hop the question. He headed over to Alex who was sitting on the couch and plopped himself down as well. "The closest time I ever came to losing was my very first Pokemon battle. I was against my friend Sonia who was also experiencing her first battle. She woulda had me beat if she didn't shriek out 'TACKLE' to her Yamper. The poor fool whimpered and started to shake from Sonia's shrill tone, and it was my Charmander's time to strike. She still talks about it TO THIS DAY, and she'll probably bring it up tonight."

"Is she one of the special guests tonight?" Alex asked while scooting a bit away from Leon to give him more room to breathe. 

"Indeed she is. She and her grandmother Magnolia will be here tonight to see you. I texted her just now and she says she's excited to get a chance to speak with you." Leon responded.

"Ah tch." Hop scoffed. "I better not catch her tryna flirt with Alex or I'll have a good word with her" 

"I'm sure that won't be an issue." Alex said in an annoyed tone. "Not every woman is head over heels over a normal dude. You should learn how to talk to a lady."

"So-RRY mate. Didn't know you took my joke so seriously. Mum I finished setting out the dishes! When is Sonia gettin' here?" Hop called out to his mother and asked.

Mrs. Victoria walked over to the dining room from the den and said "Probably in a few minutes, love. Thank you for setting out the dishes too. I'll call your father down so we can all greet Ms. Magnolia and Sonia properly."

Mrs. Victoria then starting walking up the stairs to get her husband downstairs. Hop and Leon began talking to each other about Pokemon battles while Alex browsed through Leon's Twitter profile. He never found anything particularly interesting, except he saved a cool picture from Leon's account which showed Leon after a workout. No reason, he just thought he looked cool. After saving the photo he glanced at Leon and noticed his outfit change. He had switched from his wacky yet iconic outfit to a dark blue, short-sleeve button up short and khaki shorts. "Cool." is all Alex thought.

After a few minutes passed and Hop and Leon's father arrived to the dinner table, they all heard a knock on the door. 

"I'll get it!" Hop shouted before jumping up from his spot at the dinner table to rush to the door. He opened it and let Sonia and Ms. Magnolia inside. He gave them both a quick greeting and hug before he returned to his spot at the dinner table.

Ms. Magnolia entered the dining room first. She appeared to be a woman in her mid sixties. She wore a pale yellow dress and had curly light brown dyed hair. Her face showed some age, yet she still had an air of youth about her. She had on triangular shaped glasses and had on a gorgeous sapphire gem necklace. She had on cream colored two inch heels, and walked with a cane even though she acted as if she did not need it. Clean confidence is what you would use to describe her style. She greeted all of the family then stopped at Alex. 

"I expect you to introduce yourself to me young man." Ms. Magnolia said with a soft, delicate tone.

"Hello Madam. I am Alexander." Alex said as he stood up from the couch and outstretched his hand for a handshake.

Ms. Magnolia took Alex's hand in hers and gave him a firm handshake and they looked each other in the eyes. After shaking his hand she said, "Nice to meet you Alexander. You may call me Ms. Magnolia." She let go of Alex's hand and gave him a smile. She walked towards the end of the dinner table and took her seat next to an empty chair. Most likely the spot she believed that Sonia would sit at.

Sonia had already entered the room and was standing in the doorway to the dining room. She was a young woman in her early twenties and she was gorgeous by any means. She had her vibrant orange hair back in a ponytail and wore a heart shaped hair clip. She had vibrant green eyes, bursting with personality and a very small amount of freckles on her cheeks. She wore a cute two-piece long sleeve skirt set. The color was light green and she had painted her nails vibrant orange to match her unique hair color. She wore a pair of yellow open toe four inch heels that seemed to fit her style perfectly. 

"Well are you gonna just all ogle over my gorgeous grams or are you gonna actually greet me?" Sonia asked the family before giggling and walking over to them and giving them all a big hug and greeting. When she came to Alex she hesitated for a second wondering whether or not to give him a hug as well. Alex knew what she was thinking and he gave her a huge smile and they both just started laughing. After a brief second of just giggling to each other they gave one another a hug.

"Hi, I'm Sonia." 

"Hi, I'm Alex." said Alex in a higher pitch than normal.

They both sat down at the table right next to each other and Ms. Magnolia appeared a bit annoyed by this. Everyone took their seat at the table except for Mrs. Victoria who got up to bring over the BBQ she cooked. After everyone got their portion of food, everyone began to dig in. Sonia, Ms. Magnolia, and Alex ate their ribs with a fork and knife, while Hop and his family ate theirs with their hands. Sonia and Alex looked at each other after watching the family eat with their hands and smiled knowingly at each other. There was something about each other that just made them feel as if they'd known one another for a while.

After eating for a bit and exchanging small talk, Leon decided now would be the time to bring up his idea to endorse Hop and Alex.

"Hey everyone I would like to say something." Leon said after wiping his mouth with a napkin. 

Everyone stopped what they were doing and began looking at Leon to see what he had to say. Leon looked a bit nervous but began to speak anyway.  


"You all know I have the power to endorse someone into the Gym Challenge, and I have decided who I would like to endorse. You may have guessed it, but I am going to endorse Alexander and Hop for the Gym Challenge."

There was a small silence before everyone at the dinner table started clapping. 

"You...really mean it Lee?" Hop asked.

"Of course bro! I see potential in you. I can't wait to see you attempt the challenge." Leon responded.

"I believe you picked two good contenders for the Challenge, Leon. You did well and I'm proud of you." Ms. Magnolia said.

"EEEE! I'm SO EXCITED!" Sonia exclaimed. "We all know you have the right eye for talent, and so did Gramma when she endorsed us after she saw that I TOTALLY SHOULD'VE BEATEN YOU IN OUR FIRST BATTLE!" Sonia raised her voice and said.

Leon and Alex both looked at Sonia, then at each other, then back at Sonia again and rolled their eyes. 

"What are you two looking at? You know it's true Leon!" Sonia asked and exclaimed.

"Well maybe if you didn't raise your voice like a freakin' banshee, you would've beaten me." Leon said while laughing.

Sonia opened her mouth as if to say something, then crossed her arms and gave a quick "Hmph!" in protest.

They all chat among themselves, yet Sonia and Alex were talking to each other the most. 

"Okayyy so what's your favorite color?" Asked Sonia.

"Ummm pink of course." Alex said, once again in a higher pitch than usual. He figured that Sonia just brought it out of him.

"Oh my gosh that is so you. My favorite color is green of course..'cuz my eyes you know?" Sonia said.

"Oh yes of course. Your eyes are so pretty, it's like literal jewels I cannot!" Alex exclaimed.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Thank you! Your eyes are so pretty too it's like the creamiest dark chocolate shade of brown I've ever seen. I absolutely love it." Sonia replied.

The two shared many conversations like those before finishing dinner. After everyone got up and washed their plates, Ms. Magnolia and Sonia decided it was time to leave. Ms. Magnolia and Alex hugged and shared goodbyes first. After that Sonia and Alex giggled a bunch again before hugging. 

"Okay before I go we absolutely have to get each others numbers." Sonia said to Alex after sharing a hug.

"Oh my gosh of COURSE!" Alex exclaimed before bringing out his Rotom-Phone. The two shared numbers and Sonia rejoined Ms. Magnolia before leaving the building. 

Hop walked up to Alex and put his elbow on Alex's shoulder. "You totally like her mate." Hop said.

"No I don't, you just wouldn't understand Hop. Trust me. Also congrats on getting endorsed by the way." Alex said. 

"Thank ya! I'm glad I'll be able to travel with you, that is if you decide to go. Leon told me that you're still questioning on whether or not to go." Hop said.

"I believe I decided sometime after seeing the way you lit up about being endorsed that I'm going to do the Challenge. I can't let such an opportunity pass me up. I'll let my mother know tonight that I'm going to do the Challenge." Alex said while starting to put his boots back on. It was 8:56 P.M. and Alex thought it was about time to get home and get some rest. He had to wake up early to catch the train to Motostoke. 

"That's a relief!" Hop exclaimed. "I couldn't imagine doing the Gym Challenge without you pushing me to move forward and do better. I'll come meet you at your house at 8 A.M. so be ready."

"Gotcha! I'll see you tomorrow Hop. Tell Leon I said 'good night'." Alex said before hugging Hop and leaving the house. Alex walked back to his mother's house and texted her along the way back.

> ok im coming back hehe c:
> 
> * * *

>   
>  You didn't update me at all! 
> 
> * * *

>   
>  sorry omg
> 
> * * *

> It's OK! I love you and see you soon.

Alex arrived home and his mother greeted him at the door. He went to his room to drop off his boots and cardigan. He took out Victor's Pokeball from his cardigan before plopping down on the living room couch. His mother sat on a chair in the living room with her legs crossed. Alex began telling the events of the day and started slowly explaining the Gym Challenge to her.

"-and then you have to collect the Gym Badge from each Gym Leader by completing their Gym's specific challenge then beating them in a Pokemon Battle. You have to get endorsed by someone authorized to endorse you to get into the Challenge.." Alex trailed off.

"And let me guess," Alex's mother said. "Leon wants to endorse you because he saw how amazing you were in battle." 

"Well, sure I guess." Alex said. "I think if he wasn't best friend's brother then he wouldn't have given me any attention. Oh yeah I also got a Pokemon from him! His name is Victor and he's a Scorbunny" Alex said while taking out his Pokeball from his pocket. Alex pressed the white button on his Pokeball and released Victor into the house. Victor looked a bit confused at first then saw Alex. Victor ran to him and hugged his leg before turning to Alex's mother. He smiled and ran to her as well with arms out stretched. 

"Aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" Alex's mother asked Victor while rubbing his head as he hugged her leg. "He's very adorable. I'm sure you whooped Hop with him by your side Alex. I'm so proud of you for taking on the Gym Challenge. I've heard about it from you before, but you've never shown any interest in it. I always thought it'd be something you'd enjoy, but I never wanted to pry into your life like that. I'm so happy for you." 

"Thank you Mother. I love you!" Alex said while getting up to give his mother a hug.

"I love you too, son." she said as she embraced Alex. "You should get some rest if the train leaves at 9 A.M. I'll make some breakfast for you and you need to pack. You can use your father's giant backpack in the closet." 

"Okay I will! Come on Victor, let's go get some rest." Alex said while motioning Victor to come see him. Victor hopped all the way over to Alex and they both walked to his room. Victor hopped in place while watching Alex pack. After getting changed into softer clothes and brushing his teeth, Alex said good night to his mother then shut the door to his room. Victor made a happy 'Rrrra!' sound before hopping onto Alex's bed. Alex wondered what made Victor think that it was okay to just jump on his bed like that, but he didn't mind. Alex turned off the lights to his room and made his way over to his bed. He got into his covers and pet Victor while getting ready to sleep.

"It's going to be a long day tomorrow Victor, let's hope for the best." was what Alex said before he and Victor drifted off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sonia is the type of person you just bond with immediately. like u look at each other and cant stop laughing i love her sm I ALSO FORGOT HOW I FORMATTED THE TEXT MESSAGED IN CHAPTER 3 SO U GET UGLY TEXT MESSAGES SORRY


	5. The Wild Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex leaves Postwick and heads through the Wild Area towards Motostoke. However, something interrupts his journey through the Wild Area.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhh i hope yall dont hate the way i wrote catching pokemon lol idk i just think of it like this IDK WHATEVER sorry T_T

Alex woke up to "Moonlight Sonata" playing from his Rotom-Phone at 7:30 A.M. Victor had already woken up at this point and was walking around Alex's room. Alex picked up his own glasses from the nightstand and put them on. He then turned off his alarm and stood up. He retrieved his plain black socks from the floor and put them in his laundry basket. He remembered that he had set aside clothes for his trip to Motostoke and picked them up from his computer desk chair. A black T-shirt, green jean shorts, and white running shoes were the pieces in his outfit for the day. 

Alex gave Victor a quick pat on the head before taking out his Pokeball. Victor seemed happy about going back into his Pokeball and this eased Alex's mind. He never really knew what exactly happened inside of a Pokeball, so he was glad to see his own Pokemon seemed happy in one.

Alex took a quick shower and changed into his gear for the day. He spent a considerable amount of time trying to style his hair, but it ended up just being the same look he had almost every day. He sat back down on his bed and looked at the time. "7:48 A.M." is what he read. He still a good amount of time left before Hop came over to pick him up. 

He went to his homescreen and checked his apps that he had. He had noticed that he hadn't downloaded the PokeDex app yet. If you had a Rotom-Phone, you were able to sync it with the app to keep track of Pokemon you own. He began the download and entered in some info of his phone model. After finishing the download he opened it up. He created a profile and then went to check if it updated his Pokemon. 

_"#004 Scorbunny_

_It has special pads on the backs of its feet, and one on its nose. Once it's raring to fight, these pads radiate tremendous heat." and a GIF of Scorbunny hopping up and down on its feet was shown on his profile._

Alex smiled and thought about all the other Pokemon he could add to his Dex. He never really cared about Pokemon all too much, but something about everything that happened in the last 24 hours made him very passionate about learning everything he needed to know about Pokemon and Pokemon battles. When Alex became passionate about something, he never stopped devoting himself to the specific thing until he thought he had proven to himself that he was good enough. Video games, a certain sport, or a peculiar subject in school were things that he would find himself putting in the most effort or time into. He usually lost interest in most things, but he felt something very different in Pokemon battles. The connection he felt to Victor, and the feeling he got when he beat Hop was unmatched.

He pressed the home screen button on his phone again and opened Twitter to send a quick tweet before stalking the profiles of Gym Trainer Nessa and Gym Trainer Milo. 

>   
>  _alex @bayonettaschild · Now_
> 
> _well im leaving postwick for the first time in like ever...especially alone(cept for hop stupid ass) too LMFAO im like a hermit basically. this might be the start of a lot of new beginnings, and im rly excited but also nervous UGH. mayb i'll become famous someday though~_

Alex browsed through Nessa's and Milo's Twitter profiles for a while before deciding that it was too much. He knew that one had to challenge the Gyms in a specific order, and Milo was the first. Nessa was the second, but Alex spent more time looking at her profile than Milo's. He thought she was a "queen, wow".

After looking through Twitter a bit, Alex looked at the time. "8:22 A.M." 

"Damn no time for breakfast. Also still need that tent from mother..." Alex thought while getting up from his bed. He grabbed his cardigan from off his floor and put it on. He picked up the giant, nearly one meter long, brown backpack and lugged it out of the room. It wasn't that heavy alone, but with the amount of clothes and shoes that Alex had put in there it was a bit hefty. Alex's wasn't the most athletic person alive, but for some odd reason had very strong legs. He figured that he would be able to carry the bag throughout his travels fairly easy. He also put another, smaller backpack into his large backpack to make it easier to get around once he stopped at a hotel. The Pokemon League gave free hotel rooms at cities that participated in the Gym Challenge as compensation for the amount of different cities you'd have to travel to, so he figured he'd have a bit of time to explore each city before taking on Gym Challenges.

When he got the bag out of the room and into the foyer, he called out to his mom who he noticed was sitting in the living room. "Good morning Mother. Where is our tent that we used to camp out back in?" Alex asked.

  
"That's the first thing you say to your mother when you're about to leave me for the first time?" she replied. "Just teasing you my baby. It's in the closet that's right next to the kitchen on the top shelf."

Alex went into said closet and retrieved the tent. "I feel like I'll need this." he said. 

  
"You can never be too prepared! Also are you sure you can fit that inside of your bag?" she asked.

  
"Yeah, watch me." He said.

After about 4 minutes of struggling to put the tent into his bag, he finally managed to comfortably stuff the accommodation into his large backpack. "See?" Alex asked.

"Good job! I actually didn't think you could do it." his mother said.

"Well I'm glad I could prove you wrong." Alex said. "I think I'm gonna go outside now before Hop gets here. It should be any minute now and I want to get my goodbye out of the way before he arrives." 

His mother got up from her chair in the living room and embraced Alex. "Goodbye my son. Stay safe! Don't let any Pokemon kill you or else I'll be real mad at you for being so stupid. Read up on any dangers whenever you can and TEXT ME UPDATES PLEASE!" she said.

"Yeah yeah of course." Alex said as he returned the hug.

  
"Where is the Pokeball you are keeping Victor in?" his mother asked after the hug was finished.

"Umm..." Alex replied as he trotted into his room to grab Victor's Pokeball from his nightstand. He returned to the foyer and said, "Right here in my cardigan's pocket!"

His mother rolled his eyes and gave him a smack on his bum. "Out of my house you rascal! Good luck and still remember to text me" she said.

Alex rolled his eyes and quickly said "Bye, I love you." before picking up his backpack and putting it on. 

"I love you too, son." Tani said as she opened the door for Alex and let him outside.

  
Alex made a quick mental check list of everything that he was bringing.

Money he'd made from winning an online gaming tournament: Check. He could always ask Leon for money if he was really in a pinch anyway Alex thought with a grin.

His wallet and ID: Check

Deodorant: Check

Pack of disposable razors for shaving: Check

Toothbrush and toothpaste: Check

Headphones: Check

Victor: Check

His Rotom-Phone and charger: Check.

He was definitely ready for everything that life would throw his way. Alex squatted down on his feet and took out his phone. He was getting ready to text Hop and ask him where he was, but he just started to see Hop already walking towards him on the path to his home. Alex and Hop walked towards each other and exchanged greetings before heading out towards the train station. It was a cloudy and grey sky out, and it seemed to completely blanket the planet and protect it from the sun's harsh rays. Alex was quite thankful as he never enjoyed sunny days in particular and he thought of the weather as sort of a good omen.

"Yo Alex. I forgot to mention it to you when I greeted you, but Leon gave us forty Pokeballs! Each!" Hop exclaimed while taking off his own backpack. He opened it to show the large amount of Pokeballs in his bag. 

"Damn that's sweet of him." Alex said. "I might not have enough room for all of them in my bag though." 

Alex took off his backpack and set it on the ground. He opened it and noticed there was actually a decent amount of space still left in his backpack. He figured that the difficulty with stuffing his tent in there was mostly because of how wide the tent kit was. After a small amount of debate between the two, they decided that the right amount of Pokeballs for Alex to take in his bag was 30. After Alex put all 30 into his backpack, the two continued on their journey to the train station. 

While they approached the station, the two of them became pretty nervous. Both of them knew that this was the beginning of their journeys and changes in their lives. They purchased the tickets from the stationed clerks, and took a seat among the rest of the people heading to Motostoke that day. 

After a few minutes passed, the train arrived after what felt like hours to Alex and Hop. They scanned their tickets and boarded the train. They took seats facing each other and both brought out their phones. 

"If you need anything mate, just let me know." Hop said while taking out his headphones and putting them on.

"Of course. Thanks Hop." Alex said while repeating the same action that Hop did.

Alex started to listen to his saved songs on Spotify as there was no internet connection leading out of Postwick and into Motostoke. He was listening to some Kanto-Pop when he realized he still got a phone signal and decided to text Sonia. 

> hi queen its alex lol

> HI HONEY HRU

The almost instant reply didn't surprise Alex, but it certainly made him laugh.

>   
>  UMM the instant reply lmfao  
>  i literally just left postwick for motostoke

> OKKK safe trip <333! also omfg i heard from grams that some dumbass wooloo are blocking the tracks from postwick to motostoke  
>  ur probably gonna have to stop somewhere along the way in the Wild Area

> girl what the hell is the wild area lol

> U DONT KNOW? ok whatever just look it up :|

> id look it up if i had internet connection lol  
>  can u just tell me ugh WTF 

> LOL kk im sorry i didnt know.  
>  OK SO the Wild Area is basically a giant stretch of land that all our cities in Galar are built on  
>  I literally don't know how u didnt know this they teach u this when ur basically a babby   
>  ofc they cleared out the land where we build cities on  
>  but where they havent cleared out land theres basically just a bunch of wild pokemon running around lol  
>  it's like, not as dangerous as im making it sound but still be careful  
>  dont fight any pokemon that are clearly too strong for u  
>  and dont attempt to catch any pokemon that are clearly too strong for u  
>  im sure you can tell the difference lol

> yeah im not dumb i can def tell when i should back down from a fight

> ok but theres also the fact that they might just run ur ass down so be careful <3  
>  also are you gay? sorry if im being intrusive

> UM THATS A REALLY SUDDEN QUESTION WTF

> SORRY IM SO SORRY 

> its k i dont rlly have a preference i guess umm...im just feminine sometimes ig

> OK that's good omg i can totally talk to u abt girl stuff i can already tell.

> omg talk2me whenever you need something im here for you!!

> thank you <3 im here for you as well. literally text me whenever im usually just a got dang potato most of the time so im ready to talk at a moments notice

> thank you sonia <3 i appreciate u. also dont tell anyone omg i dont like it when people judge me based upon titles

> YES of course i hate it too. im not the straightest line you can write, so i understand completely. 

> umm the train is stopping.   
>  i think the wooloo that u were talm bout earlier are making us stop so ill talk to u tonight!

> OK BYE LOV U KING <333

  
  
Alex took out his earbuds and started to listen to the announcer over the PA system of the train. 

"This is your train driver speaking. Uhh, well this is kind of an odd announcement. There's some Wooloo that are blocking the train tracks from here to Motostoke. We've stopped at a station in the Wild Area, and we're going to have to wait a while for the Wooloo to awaken. Unless you believe I should run them over, we're going to all get off the train for now. Thank you for your patience."

Alex looked at Hop, who had also taken off his headphones, and got up to pick up his own backpack from beside him. "Well Hop, I believe we should get going. We're probably going to have quite a day ahead of us." Alex said while beginning to move towards the door of the train.

"You got that right mate." Hop agreed while trailing right beside Alex.

They both got off the train and headed into the station. The layout was a bit different from the one at Postwick, but it was pretty similar in most regards. One big difference was that there was a small shop in the train station. It sold a variety of goods such as: Potions for Pokemon to use to recover from battle quickly, water bottles, fresh fruits, packaged meals, etc. Hop and Alex both purchased a good amount of groceries and packed them away. They decided it was good time to eat some of the fruit they got from the store, as they realized they hadn't eaten anything before leaving their homes like the pair of dumb teenage boys that they were.

After finishing their small meal, Hop decided to tell Alex something. "Yo mate, I think I'm gonna head up to Motostoke on foot on my own. I figured you were gonna just wait it out and take the train there, but I wanna have my own adventure!"

"Oh I was gonna walk there too." Alex said. "I think it's good if we do this on our own too though, it'll be a fun way to go on our own separate path while still being on the same road." 

"Of course! You totally get my drift. I'm gonna head out now though, so I'll see ya in Motostoke!" Hop exclaimed while running out of the train stationo and out of Alex's sight.

Alex sighed at the sight of his friend making a fool of himself by doing a mad dash out of the station, but couldn't help but be jealous of him. Alex was scared. Scared of being alone in somewhere completely new. He wasn't normally bad with being alone, but something about the thought of traveling such a vast land without anyone to guide him was kind of scary. He stepped out of the station and immediately was greeted by a cheery woman in a lab coat. 

"Hey there sir! I assume you're going to Motostoke just like the man who stepped out a few minutes ago. I have a Poke-Center2Go station right here for trainers just like you. It's free for the first 5 times to heal up your Pokemon, so how about it?" The tall woman asked Alex.

"Sure why not?" Alex replied while taking out Victor's Pokeball from his cardigan pocket. He gave the Pokeball to the woman and she placed it on an all white contraption right behind her. She placed the Pokeball on an empty slot that seemed to fit a Pokeball perfectly. A yellow light started glowing when it immediately turned to a perfect green light. A little chime theme played and the woman took the Pokeball off the device and handed it back to Alex.

"Your Pokemon is all better! Thank you for trying out my device sir." she said with a smile.

"Thank you for allowing me." Alex said before putting Victor's Pokeball back into his pocket and walking away.

He turned to face the vast Wild Area and almost lost his breath in shock. Before him was a huge stretch of land sprinkled with gorgeous trees, open fields, and even large lakes. He was amazed at the gorgeous sight, even though the area was blanketed in the soft, dim light that the clouds that covered the sky provided. He was able to make out Pokemon in the distance as well. He could see a giant rock looking snake move around and he knew this to be a Steelix. He was snapped back into reality from this sight and he remembered that he had to be careful while venturing through this area. He remembered what he was really here doing, and that was to get to Motostoke for the initiation into the Gym Challenge. He once again looked ahead and saw what looked like a dark box with towers sticking out of it. He figured that it was Motostoke as they weren't too far away from Motostoke when the train was stopped. Motostoke was probably about a five mile walk from where he was. 

"If only I had a map." is what Alex said to himself while beginning to walk on the trail right out of the train station area. Be it coincidence or sheer luck, Alex got a text from Sonia at the same exact time he said those words. He opened his text messages and put his earbuds in from earlier as he figured he was gonna need some music to get him through the day.

> HI bb i figured u were gonna need a map so i sent u a link to one that someone made lol https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/e2pLch8m46ieMV1LZBExiBO3Hbk=/0x0:1280x3258/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:1280x3258):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19375993/Pokemon_sword_shield_galar_map_locations.jpg  
>  idk what the hell wedgehurst is, i guess it was its own town b4 merging with postwick? LMFAO idk i'll ask grams abt it i guess

> THANK YOU SONIA omfg this is actually literally what i needed  
>  <3 thank uuuu

> np! <333 also make sure to be weary of your surroundings at like all times becoz pokemon is devious LOL

> ok i will....ugh i cant listen to kanto-pop then

> you like k-pop? girl im screaming

> ya i listened to it b4 people cared about it over here...im not bragging but u kno u3u

> ugh of course u did trendy asshole...  
>  JK LOV U anyway be safe! i dont wanna distract you anymore than i already am so gbye be careful!

> BYE THANK U !!

Alex put his Rotom-Phone away and took his earbuds out. He decided to completely put away his earbuds in his backpack and continue on his journey while being able to listen in on things going on around him. He checked the map and decided that it'd be easy to head towards the right side of the path and continue straight. That would probably be the easiest way to get from point A to point B. 

He walked along the path before taking out a water bottle that he'd bought from the train station. He began to take a swig when he heard rustling from the tall grass to the right of him. He quickly put the plastic bottle in his bag and grabbed Victor's Pokeball inside of his pocket. He took out the Pokeball and slowly approached the noise from the tall grass. He made it to the area where the sound came from and pushed the grass aside until he came to somewhat of a clearing. In the clearing was a mysterious green creature that was standing on two little nubs. It was about 0.3 meters long and had almost a cylindrical shaped body. It had one long green leaf covering its front side. Its head was mostly round except for three horn like protrusions from the top of its head. It had two round, black eyes and a thin lined mouth curved in a smile. The most notable feature of this Pokemon was on its two thin arms. Two gorgeous and large roses on the ends of its arms. One blood red and the other a perfect royal blue. Alex thought the way this creature walked was so funny. It walked as a human does, one leg forward then the other, but the way this Pokemon strut with its roses and arms facing upwards made Alex intrigued. He was going to try and catch it.

He quietly put back Victor's Pokeball back into his pocket, took out a Pokeball from his bag and was about to throw it when the Pokemon turned to him. It definitely knew what Alex was about to do, but it didn't seem to care. It simply stopped moving and struck a pose. Alex was very weirded out by the Pokemon, yet pressed the button on the Pokeball and gave it a toss towards it anyway. A flash of white light came out to collect the Pokemon and the Pokemon disappeared inside the Pokeball as it snapped its lid shut. The ball fell to the ground on the spot and shook. It shook again. It shook again. It shook once more before a click was heard. Alex was shocked. He'd caught his very first Pokemon in the wild. 

Alex walked over to the Pokeball and picked it up. He placed it in his cardigan's other pocket, even though there was enough space for 4 Pokeballs in one of his pockets. He felt as though Victor deserved his own special spot. After sighing a breath of relief, Alex decided to check his Poke Dex app. His bar on the bottom of the screen showed him that he had a new notification. He clicked on the notification and it opened up a message on his screen.

**Congratulations! You've caught a new Pokemon. Would you like to see its Dex info?**  
**Yes No**

  
Alex tapped yes and it brought him to Roselia's page.  
  
_"Roselia #060_

_Its flowers give off a relaxing fragrance. The stronger its aroma, the healthier the Roselia is."_

Alex collected himself before stepping back onto the main path and towards Motostoke. He walked for another two hours and walked about 3 miles before realizing he had to cross a bride about half a mile back if he wanted to make it to Motostoke. The map didn't tell him that there was a huge cliff that separated him from the final stretch to Motostoke. He sighed in frustration before retracing his steps towards the bridge. He froze in his tracks when he heard something growling behind him. He did not look back. Alex calmly walked towards the bridge when he realized there was a nice spot that he could walk down the hill he unknowingly climbed while heading towards Motostoke. The growling didn't stop. He started descending the hill when the growling stopped for what seemed like a second when Alex started sprinted at the fastest speed he could muster. He heard four sets of legs running at him and occasionally an aggressive bark which was almost mocking him to tell him to run faster. 

Alex ran and ran. He kept noticing the blur of other Pokemon as he ran and he even almost tripped when he was startled by a giant yellow spider that was handing on the wall of the hill that he had just descended. Tears were beginning to stream down Alex's face as he continued running for his life towards the bridge that he was quickly approaching. His legs were about to give out when he finally made it to the bridge. He couldn't go any further. He collapsed on his knees on the bridge and finally turned back. He saw it. A yellow and black hound that seemed to have electricity running through its very veins. It let out a howl that chilled Alex to his core. It knew it could've killed Alex right then, Alex knew it could've killed him right then as well. Despite this, the hound simply ran away from the spot it was standing at. Right before the bridge that Alex had managed to make it on. 

He wiped his tears off his face and immediately took out his half drank water bottle to pour it on his face. The warm water refreshed Alex almost as much as a dip in a pool filled with ice would. He shook off the excess water and took out another water bottle from his backpack. This water bottle wasn't to snap him out of his daze, but was to quench his overwhelming thirst. He guzzled the bottle down in seconds and gasped when he was finished. He put both of the bottles in his backpack. He'd find somewhere to dispose of the trash when he made it to Motostoke. Littering was a fine that he was not willing to possibly deal with.

He took off his glasses and wiped them off before putting them back on. He took out his phone and immediately texted his mother.

> hi mom i lov u <3 almost made it to motostoke! lol i had to go through the wild area coz some wooloo were blocking the tracks LOL but im safe c:

> I'm very glad to hear that, son. I miss you tons and I wish you all the best! I have to eat popcorn tonight in honor of you haha.

Alex smiled and was glad he was able to text his mother again. He remembered his mother and his favorite snack of popcorn and started to come to grips with his hunger. He hadn't noticed it because he was making a mad dash for his life. He was very hungry. "Actually wasn't it around dinner time?" Alex thought. He checked his Rotom-Phone and it read "6:53 P.M."

"Goodness where the FUCK has time gone!?" Alex almost yelled in an irritated manner. He'd become almost worried as he realized that it was starting to get dark. He didn't even realize that it was almost night time since he had gotten to actually think straight again. 

Alex began walking again after giving his legs a short break. He began starting to look for a place to camp out for the night. He decided on a clearing that was away from any tall grass or bushes. He figured this would be safest area as he could see any incoming danger. He began to set up the tent that he had thankfully brought along with him. After fumbling around with the many different pegs he had to structure, he finally finished making his humble abode. A simple, blue tent stood where there was just an area of short grass was before. He smiled at his work before taking out both of his Pokeballs. He released Victor first. 

Victor looked around and his eyes lit up with curiosity. He became intensely happy and started jumping around Alex. Alex laughed at this and gave Victor a hug. "I caught a friend just for you Victor!" Alex said while bringing out Roselia's Pokeball. Victor stared intently at the Pokeball before Alex pressed the button on the Pokeball and out came Roselia. 

Roselia almost twirled out of the Pokeball and landed gracefully on its two little legs and gave a bow to Alex. It turned to Victor and gave another small bow before walking over to him. It made a 'prr'ing sound before going "Prrri!" and jumping up and down with a huge smile on its face. Victor let out a joyful 'yip' before hopping about to match Roselia's bounces. Alex smiled and was relieved that they appeared to like each other.

While the two Pokemon were communicating with each other, Alex was taking out the pre-made curry he had bought from the train station. He was also looking up information about Roselia on his Rotom-Phone and had concluded that it was a female. He turned to Roselia and whistled to hopefully get her attention. She turned to face him and started jumping up and down again. She strut her stuff towards Alex and stopped in front of him.

"Ok, work." Alex said while laughing at his funny companion. "I'm going to call you Rii from now on, ok Rii?"

Rii almost seemed to understand what Alex meant as she nuzzled Alex's with her face, making sure not to touch her thorns to his skin. 

Alex took the curry that he'd made and set it on the ground in front of him. Victor and Rii came over and looked at him with hungry eyes. Alex knew exactly what they wanted and said "Wait your turn!" 

After finishing his portion of store bought curry, he called his Pokemon back over to him and started feeding his Pokemon with his own spoon. Realizing that Victor was able to feed himself, he focused on giving Rii her portion of food. The three finished the plate of vegetable curry and Alex once again placed the plastic plate in his backpack and covered it with its lid. 

Rii and Victor once again turned to each other and started communicating. This time they sounded more serious than before with how they were talking with each other. All of a sudden Victor shot a fireball from his mouth. Rii made a sound that seemed to be of approval at Victor's display of power, then she showed her own power. She raised her roses and the trees started rustling beside them. Leaves started gathering above her head while they began to glow, she then pointed her red rose at a tree. The bright leaves immediately began to race towards the tree that Rii had pointed at and they stabbed into the bark of the tree. 

Victor and Alex both appeared surprised as Rii had on her signature smile. They both looked very impressed as Rii bowed once again to show her appreciation for the two. Alex had gotten up from where he was sitting and began to get ready to go to sleep as he wanted to reach Motostoke first thing in the morning. 

Victor and Rii continued to show off their moves to each other while Alex got on his Rotom-Phone and brushed his teeth. He decided to text Hop and let him know where he was.

> yo hop lmfao i got stuck basically because a pokemon tried to kill my ass. i'll be in motostoke tomorrow first thing in the morning.

> Umm. Okay. I'm already at the hotel and I'm glad you're not dead. You're gonna be a fool though if you have to carry your big ass backpack in the Stadium.

> not my fault!! ok whatever gn

> Night lol.

He spat out his toothpaste after brushing his teeth on a patch of dirt away from his camp then swished out the remaining flavor with a swig of water. He got into his tent and called Victor and Rii inside. They both agreed to come inside and lied down beside each other.

Alex figured he could rest peacefully for now as he hadn't heard any suspicious sounds outside. He assumed his Pokemon would alert him to any danger as well, so he set his alarm for 5 A.M. and dozed off slowly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i totally forgot to include wedgehurst so i just got rid of it LMFAO oops. also remembered how i did the text messages so yeah. period!


End file.
